Composition for treating fibrous materials



United States Patent COMPOSITION FOR TREATING FIBROUS. MATERIALS Application December 5, 1952 Serial No. 324,420

2 Claims. (Cl. 106208) No Drawing.

'Ihis invention relates to the treatment of fibrous materialsand, more particularly, to rendering fibrousmaterials electro-conductive while simultaneously applying a sizing agent to them.

Various types of fibers, including both natural and artificial synthetic fibers, and yarns, fabrics and the like comprisingthem, are easily electrified, even by-the simple process of working thefibers into yarns, during fabricating the yarns, as by knitting or weaving, or by merely handlingthe fabrics.

In working up loose masses of discontinuous or staple fibers to a spunyarn on conventionalyarn-spinning equipment, the combing and/ or carding of the fibers, formation of a sliver or roving, and passage of the bundle of fibers through the drafting rollers are complicated by the tendency of the fibers to becomeelectrified by friction and to be attracted to and adhere to the metal parts of the apparatus in the electrified state; Likewise, in knitting various yarns, such as nylon yarns, smooth knitting is hampered by the tendency of the yarns to become electrified.

Fabrics comprising fibers which are not electro-conducfive are attracted to oppositely charged and to neutralobjects, to which they tend to cling tenaciously. For example, a woolen sweater or dress becomes charged with static electricity during the act of dressing "and undressing. A nylon garment has been found to be highly electrified after it is drawn across woolen blanket or similar kind of fabric. Similarly, garments which have been laundered or dry-cleaned and placed in a hamper attain some degree of electrification throughthe mere act of separating one garment from others in the hamper.

Clothing in a state of static electrification attracts par ticles of dust and -soil which have a dulling effect on the appearance of the fabric. Womens skirts and mens trousers, when electrified, are attracted to furniture such as chairs and sofas and make a dynamic contact with the seat of the chair, with the result that more soil is wiped often the fabric than would wipe off if the fabric were not charged. Dust soil and other foreign matter, for instance cat and dog hairs, thus picked up by electrostatically charged clothing are firmly adherent to the clothing and dimcult to' remove therefrom by brushing.

The problem of rendering fibrous materials resistant to the accumulation of electrostatic charges is complicated by the fact that, in most instances, it is also desirable to apply a sizing agent to the fibrous material for the purpose of improving the workability or processability of the fibers or yarns, or for stiffening and improving the hand or feel of the fabric.

It is not feasible to size the fibrous material, for ex ample, a fabric, and render the same electro-conductive by a two-step method involving first dipping the fabric into a solution of one of the known or conventional sizing agents, drying the fabric, and subsequently dipping the fabric into a solution of one of the known anti-static agents, or by reversing the order of application of the solutions, because of the danger that the solvent used as 2,326,506 Patented Mar. 11, 1958 vehicle for the agentapplied in thesecond' treatment will dissolve out the agent applied in the first treatment when the fabric is later'dipped into the solution used in the second stage of the two-step procedure.

Likewise, it is not practical to size the fibrous material and render it electro-conductive by a two-stage method in which the fabric or'the likeis sprayed first with a solution of one ofthe conditioning agents, either asizingagent or an anti-static agent, and then with a solution ofv the other of these agents; Such a method requires two dr ing operationsand, if aqueous solutions of the agents are used, the method is' limited' to the treatment of washable fabrics since, if fabricswhich are not washableare treated in that way, they aresubject to damage by excessive exposure to" water.

Furthermore; if'an aqueous solution of an anti-static agent is sprayed on a fabric carrying a water-soluble size, or if" the applications are carried out in reverse order, the water applied with the second spray tends to flush out the water-soluble agent deposited on the fabric by the first spray; The same problem arises if the respective agents are applied in a'dry-cleaning' solvent.

One object of the present invention is to provide a method for sizing fibrousmaterial and rendering it electroconductive in a single treatment.

Another object is to provide a novel treating composition for fibrous materials comprising a homogeneous sta'ble dispersion or solution of a mixture of a sizing agent and an anti-static agent.

A further object is to provide a method of simultaneously sizing fibrous material and rendering it electrocond'uctive which may be accomplished by a wet process in which the fibrous material is wet with water and the mixed sizing and anti-static agents are water-borne; or by a dry process in which the fibrous material is treated with a non-aqueous liquid such as dry-cleaners naphtha having the sizing and anti-static agents incorporated therein.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter;

In accordance with this invention, fibrous materials are simultaneously sized and rendered resistant to the accumulation of static charges by treating the material with anaqueous or non-aqueous dispersion, including solution, comprising a sizingagent and an anti-static agent, remov ing excess treating solution, if that is necessary, and drying the fibrous material.

As useful water-soluble or water-dispersible sizing agents there may be mentioned such natural, vegetable products as gum karaya, gum arabic and starch, as well as chemically produced substances such as'glue, prepared casein, polyvinyl alcohols and carboxymethyl cellulose salts. Sizing agents which are soluble or dispersible in dry-cleaning solvents and suitable for treating the fibrous materials by the dry method using dry-cleaning solvents as vehicles, include copal gums, ester gums, phenol form'- aldehyde resins and siliconeresins. The sizing agents mentioned are all normally solid or highly viscous, nonoily materials which impart a gain in stiffness to the material treated.

The anti-static agent maybe a humectant or hygroscopic agent which increases the moisture pick-up and retention capacity of the fibrous material so that, in equilibrium with the atmosphere, it retains sufiicient moisture to render it electro-conductive. Or the'a'nti static agent maybe a soluble or dispersible organic or inorganic electrolyte which renders the fibrous material electro-conductive even atlow atmospheric relative humidity;

A fairly wide variety of sizing agents and anti-stati agents may be used in admixture. However, to accompli'sh the objectives of this invention and invorder effectively to render the fibrous material electro-conductive so that static charges are nullified or immediately discharged, while simultaneously conditioning and sizing the material, certain criteria must be observed in selecting the sizing agent and anti-static agent to be used in combination. Thus, it is essential to select sizing agents and anti-static agents which are mutually compatible in the aqueous or non-aqueous vehicle in which they are to be applied to the fibrous material.

After considerable research and experimental work on this problem, I have established that, in general, the antistatic agent and sizing agent may be selected on the basis of their mutual compatibility in the selected wet or dry vehicle to yield clear, essentially transparent, homogeneous and stable solutions or dispersions when they are used in certain predetermined concentrations. It is found that any sizing agent which is soluble or dispersible in the selected vehicle and which, in a concentration between 0.001% and 40% by weight, based on the total solids weight of the composition, remains dissolved or dispersed in the vehicle in the presence of between 0.001% and 40% of the anti-static agent, may be used. Conversely, any anti-static agent which is soluble or dispersible in the selected vehicle and, in concentrations between 0.001% and 40% by weight, based on'the total solids weight of the composition, remains dissolved or dispersed in the vehicle in the presence of 0.001% to 40% of the selected sizing agent, and may be used.

By total solids weight as used herein is meant the combined weights of the sizing agent and the anti-static agent.

Various combinations of anti-static agents and sizing agents which may be used are exemplified in the examples given below. Other combinations can he arrived at cmpirically, using the stated criteria.

Concentrated solutions or dispersions of the mixed antistatic and sizing agents may be prepared initially and stored, to be diluted to a less concentrated condition at a subsequent time, such as immediately prior to application to the fibrous material. Thus concentrates containing up to the compatible limits of each of the respective agents may be prepared as clear, essentially transparent solutions or dispersions which may be stored for indefinite periods without precipitation of the sizing or anti-static agent, and the concentrates may be later diluted with additional amounts of water or of a dry-cleaning solvent, as may be appropriate. In both the concentrated and the diluted condition, the compositions are homogeneous and stable since the agents are selected so that under normal conditions of storage and use, neither monomer copolymerizable with acrylonitrile, including binary copolymers of acrylonitrile with vinyl acetate, methacrylonitrile, or an acid dye-receptive monomer of the type of vinylimidazoles and vinylpyridines such as Z-vinylpyridine or 2-methyl-5-vinylpyridine and containing at least 70% of acrylonitrile in the polymer molecule, as well as ternary copolymers containing, in addition to polymerized acrylonitrile, two other, difierent monomers, particularly terpolymers containing, in the polymer molecule, in addition to a minor amount of a third monomer such as methacrylonitrile, at least 70% of acrylonitrile and at least 2% of a monomer receptive to dyestuff, such as a vinylpyridine or a vinylimidazole.

The fibrous materials may also comprise or consist of spinnable blends of two or more acrylonitrile polymers such as a blend of a base polymer which may be polyacrylonitrile or a copolymer of acrylonitrile and, for in stance, vinyl acetate, high in acrylonitrile, i. e., containing at least 90% preferably from 92-98 of acrylonitrile in the polymer molecule, with a modifying acid dye-recep tive copolymer of acrylonitrile and a vinylpyridine containing between 30 and 70% by weight of acrylonitrile in the molecule. 7 Such a blend may consist of, for example, 80 to 95 parts by weight of a base polymer of 97% acrylonitrile and 3% vinyl acetate with from 2 to 20 parts by weight of a modifying, acid dye-receptive copolymer of 50% acrylonitriles and 50% of a vinylpyridine.

The fibrous material may be in any form. For example, loose masses of discontinuous or staple fibers may be sized and rendered electro-conductive preparatory to being spun into a yarn, or assembled in a felt-like structure in which the fibers are either arrayed in a substanactive agent of the composition is precipitated by the other. a

The fibrous material may comprise or consist of natural fibers such as cotton and wool, or it may comprise or consist of artificial or synthetic fibers made from such fiber-forming materials as regenerated cellulose; cellulose esters such as cellulose acetate; cellulose ethers of the type of carboxymethyl cellulose and hydroxyethyl cellulose in which the ratio of ether groups to anhydroglucose units encompasses the range including the water-soluble ethers, the water-insoluble, alkali-soluble ethers and the organic solvent-soluble ethers; cellulose thiourethanes and polyamides of the nylon type (c. g. polymeric condensates of dibasic acids and diamines).

The fibrous material may also comprise or consist of fibers of polyesters of the Dacron type (c. g. polymeric condensates of terephthalic acid and glycols); polyethylene; polytrifluorochlorethylene; polytetrafluorethyh ene; copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate (Vinyon); copolymers of acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride (Vinyon N); polycarboanhydrides; fiber-forming polyvinylchloride; fiber-forming polyvinylidene chloride; c0- polymers of vinylidene chloride and vinyl chloride (Saron); polyacrylonitrile; copolymers of acrylonitrile with at least one other monoethylerically unsaturated tially parallelized condition or in random arrangement, by spraying the fiber mass with a solution or dispersion containing the compatible sizing and anti-static agents, or by placing the masses of fibers on a foraminous conveyor and drawing them through the solution or dispersion.

The fibers may be in a crimped condition imposed mechanically or resulting from the inherent character of the fibers and the manner in which they have been handled. Thus, the fibers may be obtained from filaments formed of two different fiber-forming materials having different characteristics rendering the filaments reversibly convertible between a substantially straight condition and a crimped condition, the discontinuous fibers being in the crimped condition.

The short fibers may be obtained from conjugated filaments comprising two components, each comprising a different thermoplastic fiber-forming material arranged in side-by-side relationship, one of the thermoplastic components being more heat-shrinkable than the other, so that on heating in a relaxed condition to the shrinkage ternperature for the more readily shrinkable component, that component shrinks causing buckling of the less heatsensitive component, and crimping of the conjugated filament as a whole. Such crimped filaments, after setting thereof in the crimped state by cooling, may be cut or otherwise reduced to short fibers, which are then sized and made electro-conductive by treatment with the homogeneous composition containing the sizing and anti-static agents.

Continuous filaments or yarns may be treated as running lengths, in the form of skeins or hanks, or after collection in wound package form, as on a bobbin, spool or pirn, or in the form of an unsupported wound filamentary package or cake, by passing the homogeneous treating agent through the windings of the package.

The treatment may be performed in a field of sound waves having a frequency of a thousand to a million or more cycles per second, whereby the treating composition is impelled through the windings and uniform distribution of the treating composition on the yarn is facilitated. Continuous filaments or yarns may be gathered into a bundle or tow of high total denier, and treated with the homogeneous solution or dispersion of aseasoe the sizing and anti-static agents and dried, as they proceed to a subsequent collecting or disrupting zone, for instance a zone in which they are reduced to discontinuous lengths by breaking or cutting.

The filaments or yarnsof the bundle may be crimped prior to application of the solution or dispersion of the mixed sizing and anti-static agents, after such treatment, or intermediately of the stage at which they are treated with the homogeneous solution or dispersion and the stage at which they are reduced to short lengths.

For instance, when the filaments or yarns making up the bundle or tow comprise thermoplastic fiber-forming material, the bundle may be directed in a predetermined path along which it is treated with the sizing and antistatic solution or dispersion, dried as by subjecting it to the action of warm air currents, passed into a chamber equipped with a steam injector and in which the filaments or yarns are forced to pile up and are crimped by backpressure under the influence of the steam, and thence to a collecting or cutting zone.

The yarns, such as nylon yarns, may be treated with the solution or dispersion containing the sizing agent and the anti-static agent, and dried, as they are fed to the needles of a knitting machine.

ucts of the kind frequently described as non-Woven fabrics, i. e., products comprising matted or intermingled fibers associated together to form a compact material obtained without benefit of spinning or weaving, leather and paper, may be sized and rendered electro-conductive in a single operation by treatment in any suitable way, as by spraying, dipping, by passage in contact with a brush or the like rotating in a bath of the treating solution and arranged to transfer the solution to the fibrous material, and then dried at ordinary temperature or at elevated temperature below the temperature at which the fibers would be damaged.

Fabrics and articles of clothing may be sized and rendered electro-conductive in the course of finishing them for marketing. They may be restored to their initial sized, electro-conductive condition after laundering or dry-cleaning, by treatment with the homogeneous solution or dispersion of the mixed sizing and anti-static agents either as a step in the laundering or dry-cleaning process or as an after-treatment of the laundered or dry-cleaned goods.

In preparing the homogeneous compositions of the invention, the selected sizing agent may be dissolved or dispersed in water or the dry-cleaning solvent, with heating and stirring as may be required to efiect the dissolution or fine dispersion, and thereafter the anti-static agent compatible with the sizing agent in concentrations of 0.001% to 40% may be dissolved or dispersed in the solution of the sizing agent. As already noted, the product obtained initially may be highly concentrated, containing amounts of the sizing and anti-static agent in the upper limits of the ranges stated, and diluted as desired at a later time.

In the following examples, specific embodiments of the invention are given and representative mixtures of sizing agents and anti-static agents which may be used are set forth. It will be understood that these examples are given by way of illustration only, and that the invention is not limited to the particular mixtures of antistatic and sizing agents shown therein.

Example I A concentrated sizing and anti-static composition was prepared by dissolving 50 grams of gum arabic in 450 grams of boiling water, adding 5.0 grams of the antistatic agent, alkyl (C to C [alkyl (0,, to C )-butylmethyl]-trimethyl-ammoniurn chloride having the for- .mula

OtHv OH:

(81317]; Cv-Cr5) IN-CH! H C OH: to the solution, and stirring mixture until the anti-static agent was dissolved.

Fifty grams of theconcentrate were stirred into 250 grams of water to obtain a diluted solution suitable for spraying.

A piece of cotton lace was sprayed with the solution, and a piece of nylonnetting was immersed therein. The fabrics were then dried and pressed. They were found to have acquired an increased stifiness desirable for decorative and dressmaking purposes. When the dried, pressed pieces of fabric were brushed and stroked with a. smooth, varnished wood stick, they did not become electrified and exhibited no attraction for particles of dust or other foreign matter.

Example II One hundred grams of gum arabic were dissolved, with stirring, in 895 grams of water, and 5 grams of a di-polyalkanolalkylamine anti-static agent were dissolved in the gum solution.

Pieces of cotton and nylon cloth were treated with this solution as in Example I. After removing excess treating liquid and drying and pressing the cloths, they were found to have acquired a stiff, crisp hand and to be resistant to the accumulation of static charges.

In comparison, similar pieces of cloth which were sprayed with the gum solution, without the addition of the nitrogenous anti-static compound, were stiffened but were readily electrified by friction.

Nora-The di-polyalkanol alkylamine used in this example was of the type having the structural formula:

where R is a methyl or ethyl radical and x and y are each in integer from 1 to 5.

Example III Ten grams of laundry starch were boiled in 400 grams of water, and 40 grams of calcium chloride were added.

A piece of nylon cloth was immersed in the solution, wrung to remove the excess, dried and pressed.

This treatment imparted a pleasing stiffness to the fabric and rendered it electro-conductive.

Example 1V Twenty grams of a water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol were stirred into 980 grams of boiling water. The solution thus obtained was divided into two equal portions. One of these portions was diluted with 495 grams of water containing 1.0 gram of urea to obtain a treating solution A. A piece of silk cloth immersed in the solution A, squeezed to remove the excess liquid, dried and pressed, was found to have acquired a perceptible stiffness and to be resistant to electrification when it was subjected to friction by rubbing it across a clean glass plate.

A similar fabric immersed in the other portion of the initial solution acquired a definite stifiness but was easily electrified by rubbing across the glass plate.

Example V An additional 3.0 grams of urea were added to a solution A as in Example IV. A piece of silk immersed in the solution, squeezed, dried and pressed, did not exhibit any visible change in texture or color as the result of treatment with the solution containing the increased proportion of urea, and was even more resistant to electrification than the fabric treated in solution A containing the lesser amount of urea.

Twenty-five grams of the commercially available resin ST-137 (phenol formaldehyde resin precondensate) were dissolved in 470 grams of toluene. Five grams of dibutyl acid phosphate were then dissolved in the solution. A 12" square piece of silk dress goods was wet with the solution and dried. It was sized satisfactorily and also resisted electrification.

In contrast, when a piece of silk as above was immersed in the toluene solution of the phenol-formaldehyde resin in the absence of the dibutyl acid phosphate, the fabric was less resistant to electrification than before the treatment with the solution.

Example VII Twenty grams of the commercially available resin Piccolyte 8-85 (a terpene resin) were dissolved in 475 grams of mineral spirits. Two grams of the quaternary ammonium anti-static compound [alkyl (C to C )-tolylmethyl]-trimethyl ammonium chloride'having the formula (alkyl; On to C15) were then dissolved in the solution of the terpene resin size. A piece of white poplin was wet with the solution, and dried. It had an attractive, crisp feel and was found to be resistant to electrification when struck with a rod formed of a methyl methacrylate resin. i

Example VIII Three hundred grams of diabietyl phthalate and 50 grams of glycerol mono-oleate were dissolved in 5,950 grams of perchlorethylene. A cellulose acetate netting curtain was wet out with the solution, dried, and ironed. When the stiflfened curtain was hung, it draped nicely. On reaching an equilibrium of moisture saturation with respect to the surrounding atmosphere, the curtain was electro-conductive and did not balloon out or lose its original position of drape when subjected to friction.

It will be apparent from the foregoing examples that, in compounding the compositions of the invention, if the concentrations of the sizing agent and anti-static are controlled within the limits given, sizing agents and antistatic surface active agents of diverse chemical composition may be used together. In addition'to the antistatic hygroscopic materials and electrolytes specifically illustrated,'there may also be used, in admixture with the sizing agents, quaternary ammonium compounds such as paradiisobutyl-phenoxy ethoxyethyl dimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride and N-soya-N-ethyl morpholinium ethosulfate (supplied commercially as a 35% aqueous solution). Propylene glycol, glycerol mono-laurate and mono-sulfonated glycerol compounds are also effective anti-static agents which are compatible with the sizing agents, in the concentrations stated, and may be used.

The conditions of the treatment, including the extent of dilution of the treating solution and the amount thereof picked up by the fibrous material may be varied, depending on the kind of fibrous material being treated, the relative humidity to which it is to be exposed, and the sizing and anti-static agents present in the treating solution or dispersion. In general, only comparatively small amounts of the sizing and anti-static agents are needed to accomplish'the present objectives and it has been observed that treating solutions or dispersions containing between about 0.001% and about 0.050% 'of the anti-static agent, and about the same amountof sizing agent, are satisfactory. Greater or lesser amounts of these agents may be present in the treating composition, however, although generally speaking neither agent will be used in a concentration lower than about 0.001% by weight on the total solids weight.

The amount of the sizing and anti-static agents picked up by the fibrous material will depend on both the concentration thereof in the composition and the time of exposure of the fibrous material to the composition. On the basis of the weight of the fabric or other fibrous material being treated, it has been observed that the addition of from about 0.001% to 0.10% by weight of the treating solution or dispersion containing between 0.001% and 0.05% of each of the agents is usually suificient to result, after drying, in an electro-conductive material carrying sufficient size to impart to it the desired stiffness. Here again the conditions may be varied and the addition of larger or smaller amounts of the treating composition to the fibrous material may be effected, when the fibrous material treated necessitates it.

This invention is particularly useful in the treatment of garments during or after dry-cleaning. The invention makes it possible to size the garment and render it electro-conductive, or to refreshen the garment by replenishing any size and anti-static agent removed during the dry-cleaning opeation by a single treatment with a single homogeneous treating composition. Since only one treatment is required to achieve the dual purposes of sizing the garment and making it resistant to the accumulation of electrostatic charges, garments made of water-sensitive fabrics may even be treated with the less expensive aqueous solutions or dispersions of the compatible' sizing and anti-static agents without being damaged by the treatment.

The sizing agents and anti-static agents are defined herein in terms of minimum concentrations in which they are mutually compatible in the aqueous or non-aqueous vehicle. That range of concentrations is 0.001% to 40% by weight on the total solids weight of the composition. However, while the homogeneous treating composition may comprise between 0.001% and 40%, each, or more generally, between 0.001% and 20% each, of the sizing and anti-static agents, the definition in terms of minimum compatible concentrations is not a limitation on the relative proportions of the two agents in the treating composition which may be higher for either or both in a given instance provided the requirement for compatibility and a homogeneous dispersion or solution is observed. A given sizing agent may be compatible in concentrations higher than stated with a selected anti-static agent. Conversely, a given anti-static agent in a concentration higher than 40% may be compatible with the selected sizing agent. Or the sizing agent and anti-static agent may be mutually compatible in water or the dry-cleaning solvents in concentrations higher than 40% by weight. Where higher concentrations of one or the other or both the sizing agent and anti-static agent result in homogeneous dispersions, the higher concentration may be used, if desired, and as will be apparent from a consideration of some of the foregoing examples, such as Example III, in which the calcium chloride is used in an amount of by Weight, on the total solids weight, as well as of Example IX below which illustrates still other compositions which are within the scope of this invention.

Example IX Forty grams of the terpene resin Piccolyte 8-85 and 2.0 grams of diamyl acid phosphate were dissolved in 58 grams of xylol. One part of this concentrated solution was diluted with eight parts of xylol to obtain a solution containing 4.44% of the terpene resin and 0.20% of the antistatic, and which was adapted for use in heavy sizing.

For sizing thin netting and laces, one part of the concentrated solution was diluted with 80 parts of dry cleaners solvent to obtain a solution containing 0.44% of the terpene resin and 0.02% of the anti-static agent.

In the appended claims, the compositions are referred to as dispersions of the sizing .and anti-static agents. The term dispersion is used in its broader sense to include both molecular dispersions or true solutions and colloidal dispersions in which the dispersed particles fall within the colloidal range of sizes.

From the foregoing discussion, it will be seen that the present invention provides new compositions, and a new method, for simultaneously sizing fibrous materials and eliminating or materially reducing the tendency of such materials to become electrified when exposed to friction. It will also be understood that various changes and substitutions may be made in the compositions given herein without departing from the scope of this invention. Such variations, substitutions and modifications are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A stable, concentrated, storable dispersion consisting essentially of water, from 5% to 40% by weight of gum arabic, and from 5% to 40% by weight of [alkyl (C to C )-butylmethyl1-trimethyl ammonium chloride, the dispersion being clear, homogeneous and essentially transparent and adapted to be diluted with water to provide a stable, clear, homogeneous essentially transparent treating bath for fabrics in which the fabrics are stiffened and simultaneously rendered electroconductivc.

2. A stable, concentrated, storable dispersion consisting essentially of water, gum arabic, and [alkyl (C to C butylmethyfltrimethyl ammonium chloride, the dispersion being adapted to be diluted with water to provide a stable, homogeneous, essentially transparent treating bath for fab: rics in which the fabrics are stiffened and simultaneously 10 rendered electroconductive, said gum arabic and alkyl ammonium chloride being present in the proportionate amounts, by weight, of about 10% and 1% of the concentrate, respectively.

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1. A STABLE, CONCENTRATED, STORABLE DISPERSION CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF WATER, FROM 5% TO 40% BY WEIGHT OF GUM ARABIC, AND FROM 5% TO 40% BY WEIGHT OF (ALKYL) (C9 TO C12)-BUTYLMETHYL)-TRIMETHYL AMMONIUM CHLORIDE, THE DISPERSION BEING CLEAR, HOMOGENEOUS AND ESSENTIALLY TRANSPARENT AND ADAPTED TO BE DILUTED WITH WATER TO PROVIDE A STABLE, CLEAR, HOMOGENEOUS ESSENTIALLY TRANSPARENT TREATING BATH FOR FABRICS IN WHICH THE FABRICS ARE STIFFENED AND SIMULTANEOUSLY RENDERED ELECTROCONDUCTIVE. 